Friday Painting

Rough  phone photo of pastel done last Friday at the Sanibel Lighthouse.  A beautiful day to paint!!

 The tower looks crooked but it isn't in my painting..just in the photo!!

 

Testing the system......

  Painting "Nightlights"  mixed media

Just testing to see if this remote email works…..

 

 

Practice & Packing

   Bowditch Beach

                                                                                   wc & pastel

 

 

As hard as I try I can't fit all the supplies I need into my rolling backpack.  They are the minimal needed to paint for two weeks in Ireland this June.  Only about 6 weeks and we fly away to the emerald isle!!  It looks like I will need to be creative in finding a way to carry the tripod, tri-stool, and wc block & papers with me each day.  Luckily I can sew up a special bag that will have the closures and compartments needed to travel and keep things safe.

 

 

I plan to use a technique similar to the painting above for most of the work.  There have been stories told of the mist washing away watercolor and oils never drying, so we must expect a few challenges to our working.  A pen and ink will be the back up material for all of us artists I think.

 

 

Over lunch last week we talked about what to pack and how to pack it but mostly about how excited we all are to be able to travel again with FMBAA artists.  Thanks to Neil we will enjoy Ireland, then Sedona then back to Limoux.  We are living a blessed life I think!!

 

In the next weeks I will be painting as much as I can to get the brush hand limbered up and ready.  soon this blog will be filled with Travel Tales once again!!

 



Catching Up.......

My travel has been from one home to another these past months.  North to South and then to a new home.  A lot of work involved but I ended up with a lovely studio space overlooking the palms. 

This summer will  include a trip to Ireland with the FMBAA group.  The Burren Art Center is the main focus and then to paint in the surrounding countryside.  I hope to post as before as we visit the many beautiful locations.     We have been planning and preparing our gear for this trip for the past few months.  FMBAA is lucky to have Neil to make the painting trip arrangements for us.  Next year will include Sonoma and Limoux and who knows where after that.  My plan is to join them in Limoux.

As amazing as it seems, we will be celebrating our 50th reunion in August and look forward to seeing old friends from school.  Many of them started kindergarten with us!!

Then on to Europe for a visit to Paris, Prague, down the Danube and ending in Budapest.  The river cruise is a first for us and we are excited to try this version of our favorite way to travel.  I am pleased to return to France for the third time and practice my French again.  Really, they are very tolerant of my language skills.  Mrs. Brown, my French teacher, would be happy that it stayed in my memory after all these years.  I should really practice more!!

In between this travel I'll be doing more plein air painting and working to launch the 5th Paint the Beach plein air festival on Nov. 3-9.  And of course we look forward to time on the lake and with our children and grandchildren...the best part of summer!!

  Wiggens Pass....